Lealand
The nation of Lealand was founded on the 10th of October 2008, within hours it had entered the alliance SNAFU, which had recently formed at the end of August. As SNAFU prospered, so did Lealand, quickly becoming a mid-size nation. Geography of Lealand Lealand is a country based on a midsized island, with beautiful highlands in the north of the country, providing most of Lealand's natural resources, while the south is mostly flat, containing most of the countries population. Lealand is based in a temperate climate, with an average temperature in winter of 4C and an average temp in summer of 17C. It has a rather wet climate, which result in some level of flooding in the south of the country, particular in the months after the thaw of the ice in the northern mountains. It's main industrial base is based in the south of the country, concentrated in and around the capital, Leyton. Capital of Lealand: Leyton Leyton is the capital city of Lealand, plus the biggest city and most industrial. Main highlights in the city include the capital building, located in the centre of the city, alongside the River Firth, the National Stadium, which hosts the finals of team sports cup competition and national team matches. Other sites include Barrels Hill, which is Leyton's premier park, and overlooks the city centre from the west, the Seafront, where the majority of the high end retailers are situated. To east of the estuary that the Firth flows out is the main commercial harbour in Lealand where much of it's imports and exports go through, this is surrounded by the main concentration of industry in the capital. Politics of Lealand Lealand is a socialist democracy, believing in strong civil and political freedoms with strongly limited eccomnic freedoms. It's government runs on the basis of making life easier on it's citizens, thus it takes control of many services, that in other countries would be privately owned. As part of this, working hours are a max 35 hours a week, while companies are subject to strict rules involving comfort and services provided to it's employees. As a result, the average income after tax is rather low compared to most countries, however, a lot of that income can be used for luxury purposes due to the high level of services provided by the government. Lealand also boosts a some of the happiest and healthiest people in planet Bob. Sports of Lealand Sport is a huge part of Leaish life, with Sunday being the main day of playing various sports. It has been commented by foreign observers that sport effectively takes the place of religion in the country, especially as key dates in Lealand's sporting calendar are public holidays All sport in Lealand is ran by the LSA (Lealand Sport Association), which is responsible for the funding and general running of sport in Lealand. Each sport then has it's own body under the LSA, which is involved in the running of the sport. Lealand's national sport is football (soccer, though the use of the word "soccer" can result in a 6 months imprisonment, which has led to several incidents with foreign visitors that haven't been informed of this rule). The LFA runs all competitions involving football in the country. The two main ones are the national league, consisting of 6 divisions of 20, and the National Cup, with the first round including all teams in the national league plus 8 non league qualifiers. The current champions (of both the league and the cup) are Leyton Utd. Other main sports played in Lealand include, badminton, cricket, rugby and swimming, though none of those, at a competitive level compare to the numbers of players as football does (swimming could be classed as the most popular form of exercise though).